


(title reflecting Time Lord Academy setting)

by TheLastComment



Series: Stranded in Space [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-28
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:24:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLastComment/pseuds/TheLastComment
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Across a field, two desolate houses stand, each with one inhabitant. (yeah, I'll finish the description later)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Field of Solitude

I stared out across the red fields at the one other house that was visible from many of the windows of my own. So alone in this house, with only a robotic interface to talk to. The house across the fields was my one link to what I knew was out there. I knew that there were others out there- the robot had educated me, taught me to read and write. I spent a lot time reading books and drawing. Watching the suns rise across the mountains too. Every morning I’d try to wake up in time to watch them chase each other. Each day, I’d remember a bit better how they came up, chasing each other, and each day my sketches of them would get better and better.

Every now and then I’d see another Child of Gallifrey stare out the window of the other house. The expression on his face matched the loneliness and longing I felt. We had never met, never spoken, never shared anything more than a fleeting glance as we both stared into the horizon. I felt like we had an unspoken connection, but the one time I did try to communicate with him by putting one of my drawings in the window, my windows facing his house were blocked off for a week. After then, I never did more than stare at his house, wondering what he was doing there. I was here because “I was special and needed a specific atmosphere when I was born, or else I would die.” I often wondered why my parents had left me here, never even communicated with me, but accepted it as a fact that they didn’t.

_I might never see him again_ , though, I thought to myself, staring out the window one day, because tomorrow I was going to be taken to the Untempered Schism. It is customary for all Children of Gallifrey to stand before it on their eighth birthday, to stare into it. After that, I would be taken to the Academy. My first day at the Academy would be my first real interaction with another Child of Gallifrey. I had tried to wave, a few years ago, when I put that picture up, but the robot reprimanded me that there was nobody out there, that the other house was a figment of my imagination. But before the windows I could see that house through were blacked out, I could have sworn I saw the other kid wave back.

That next morning, I stood waiting at the door that was always sealed, wearing the clothes that the robot had laid out for me. I had never seen them before, but I assumed that they were special clothes for my visit to the Untempered Schism. They were very plain- a cotton shirt and pants, loosely fitting, and of a sky blue color. The robot had told me that a party would come to escort me, that they would break the seal on the door. I was immensely perplexed when I saw not one but two parties enter my field of sight from beyond the horizon. They split off, and one came towards my meager dwelling while the other went to that of my distant neighbor. Was today his day as well? Or did another fate await him? I knew he was real. I could see pictures through his dwelling’s window that I couldn’t have imagined, and logically, my window wouldn’t have been blacked out if there wasn’t a reason I shouldn’t try and interact with him.

The party came to the door. The robot was right- they opened it. There must have been some release mechanism on the exterior, for they seemed to have no problem with it. They motioned for me to walk out to their vehicle, which I did. As soon as everyone in the party had followed me in and was seated, we raced off, away from the house and fields that had been all I knew.


	2. The Untempered Schism

I don’t know how long it took to reach the Citadel, but it took what seemed to be a decent length of time. When I arrived, I was escorted through a series of dark hallways. Finally, we arrived at a grand chamber with only one feature of note: the stone and the Vortex. A stone circle had been erected to contain, demarcate, the circumference of the Untempered Schism. The lighting only barely reached the standard of ambient light, and it was hard to tell who guarded this tear in the fabric of reality, only that it was well protected. I stood there in the massive oak doorway for a minute, waiting for further direction on what I was to do. My hearts were racing in anticipation. This was one of the most important moments in the life of a Child of Gallifrey. Finally, a man to my side nodded and motioned to the carpet in front of me that led straight to another stretch of carpet that stopped two feet short of the Untempered Schism. The stretch in front of me led further, though, and I wondered where the other end led to.

As I approached the turn, I saw another figure approach me. It was approximately the same size as me, and mimicked my motions nearly perfectly. I was tempted to call it a reflection, but it was not the same as me. Was this perhaps my distant neighbor? He had left his desolate house at the same time as me, and to the best of my knowledge had been locked within as long as I had been in my own with no external contact. My eyes widened just the slightest bit, being taken aback that he was here as well. I knew to conceal my reaction though. There were innumerable Time Lords watching us. We proceeded to stand in front of the Untempered Schism, no sign of camaraderie, familiarity, or even curiosity on either of us. We both understood the seriousness of what we were doing, and acted accordingly.

As I stood there, the power was pulling me in, and I felt compelled to jump into the Schism, but I knew that it was a stupid idea that might kill me, or at least make me look like an idiot, neither of which I wanted to happen. So we kept standing there, not really doing anything. I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to, and neither was the boy standing next to me. I could have sworn there were voices buzzing around us, whispering questions into one another’s ears. After a bit of time, I started to get comfortable in the presence of the Schism. It was a little creepy at first, since I could feel the raw power rolling out of it, seeping into my bones, but I adjusted to it and decided that it was interesting. A spark of curiosity had been placed. This tear led to every time and place imaginable. I wanted to see it all.

A voice boomed out eventually. “Return to your escorts,” was its only command. I wasn’t sure how long we had been standing there. It might have been for just a moment, or it could have been for an eternity. It was so timeless. Nonetheless, we turned around and walked back along the carpet, retracing our steps. At the T, we split to go to opposite sides of the hall.

Who was he? Was he the kid that lived across the fields? I never could tell much about him. Why was he here at the same time I was? One look at the faces of my escorts told me that I was to remain silent though. Their expressions were so stern that you could tell that one misstep would yield a scolding at the least.

I was escorted to a room that would be mine for the entire time I was a student at the Academy- until I earned my rightful title of Time Lord. It was not too different to what I had had back at my house, but its door could be opened from the inside and led out to a hallway, which would connect me to the rest of the Academy’s complex. Tomorrow I would start class. My books were on a small shelf in my room. Also contained within my room were a bed and a desk. There was a clock built into the wall that displayed the time, since there were no windows.


End file.
